How much life insurance do I need?

Getting the right amount of coverage can be confusing and tricky. You need to know what to protect, how long to protect it, and then how your life might change in the future. Wysh understands these dilemmas and has simplified the process. We offer personalized tools so you can feel confident knowing you have the right coverage on day one and every day following.

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Organize your needs

How do I figure out how much life insurance I need?

With life insurance it’s easy to end up with either too much coverage or not enough. So, before you start shopping around, follow these tips to help you understand exactly what you need in a plan.

Tip #1

Create a list

Start by jotting down your top priorities. We find most people include things like:

  • Mortgage
  • Student loans
  • Credit card debt
  • Car payment
  • Funeral costs
  • Medical costs
  • Pet care

Of course, your needs are going to be different from others, so make this list as unique as you are!

A life insurance checklist with the Wysh Builder, a free life insurance calculator to help determine coverage needs.
A man struggles to fit the right pair of pants, displaying the difficulty of choosing a suitable term policy length.
Tip #2

Decide the length of your term

A good rule of thumb is to be covered until you retire or until your dependents leave home.

Most term life insurance companies offer policies in 10, 20, or 30 year increments. But, because each person’s ideal term length is different, Wysh uses one year increments. So coverage can be available for 10, 11, or 29 years.

Tip #3

Name your beneficiaries

Decide who will get the death benefit, should it come to that. This can be one person or multiple people. Just make sure they will be able to use the money to cover the things you added to your list in tip #1.

Bonus tip: It’s also smart to think about back-ups, or contingent beneficiaries, in case your first picks are not around later.

A group of family photos showing the value of selecting beneficiaries and protecting loved ones. 
Calculate your coverage

Why use a life insurance calculator?

Our calculator, the Wysh Builder, makes it so easy to identify not only the needs you know of, but maybe a few you haven’t thought of yet. And at every step it helps you assign dollar amounts to each need, or Wysh, so you can know what coverage your policy will need, saving you time and money.

get your quote

*$14.03 is based on a 20-year term, 250k coverage, 30-yr old healthy non-smoker super preferred rate, female

A display screen of Wysh's free life insurance calculator to help determine how much life insurance a policyholder needs.
Get flexible coverage

How much life insurance should I get?

Once you set your financial goals, consider not only where your life is now, but also how the rest of your days will play out. Luckily, Wysh plans are designed to easily flex and adjust to your changing life. This means you can get only what you need today, and add or remove coverage when you need it tomorrow.

Today
$120k
Needed
A graduation cap to represent a Wysh to pay off college tuition.A credit card to represent a Wysh to pay off credit card debt.

Lock in rates while you’re still young and healthy.

In 12 years
$426k
Needed
A house to represent a Wysh to pay the mortgage.A graduation cap to represent a Wysh to pay off college tuition.A kiddie pony ride to represent a Wysh to cover children.Two rings to represent a Wysh to  cover a wedding gift.A car to represent a Wysh to pay car payments.

Customize your coverage to protect your beneficiaries and assets as your family grows.

In 24 years
$275k
Needed
A house to represent a Wysh to pay the mortgage.A stethoscope to represent a Wysh to pay off hospital bills.A heart as a gift to represent a Wysh to cover a charity donation.

Lowering needs and debt can result in a lower monthly premium.

Join the growing number of customers who entrust us with their financial protection

Take a look at what our customers are saying.

Read all Trustpilot reviews
Life insurance while you’re young
Most people in their 20's don't think about life insurance. The truth is, you never know what could happen. I would never want to leave my family with the responsibility of covering my debt and caring for my animals.locking in my rates until I'm 60 no matter what happens to me, is such a blessing.
-Jayne
5
/5
Trustpilot Verified Review

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